Best Prepper Foods To Stockpile For A Future Disaster

Is Stockpiling Prepper Food A Good Idea?

When I was a little boy and we ran out of peanut butter, my mother would send me downstairs to get another jar off the shelf.

Usually, there would be two more jars behind that one.

My mother (just like her mother before her) always had months of food on hand at any given moment.

I grew up assuming this was normal. Yet as a young adult, I didn’t shop this way.

After buying “BIG,” I might have two weeks of food on hand.

Never three jars of peanut butter, eight cans of pork and beans, or ten loaves of frozen bread.

I once asked my grandmother why she always had so much food in the house.

Her answer was, “Just In Case.”

Now middle-aged, with children of my own, I fully understand her answer.

My grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and World War II.

They and their peers saw our fragile economy collapse in 1929, the market plummet, banks folding, and an entire way of life threatened.

During World War II, they experienced the rationing of sugar, gasoline, and consumer goods. Of course, the war effort required sacrifice, and they constantly feared an Axis victory.

When the war and rationing ended, they continued stockpiling prepper food and never stopped.

Not all that long ago, my family relied wholly on the ability to go to our local grocery store and pick up whatever we needed on a moment’s notice.

I’d drive around with my tank on empty, knowing I could stop and get gas anytime I needed it. The gauge on my grandfather’s old Buick?

It never fell below half a tank.

I used to rely solely on my utility company to bring gas and electricity directly into my house, without which my family would freeze to death in the cold Upper Midwest winters.

These are all typical modern-day expectations; citizens are completely relying on others for basic survival, the assumption being the dollar will always be able to buy these goods and services.

We assume money is as close at hand as the nearest ATM. And the value of the dollars we withdraw will remain stable; both dangerous assumptions.

On September 11th, while New Yorkers were pulling together for the common good and fire and police agencies all over the country were sending people and equipment to Ground Zero.

What was the rest of the country doing?

Many were sitting in their cars, in long lines, waiting to fill their tanks with $4.00 gasoline. Price gouging occurred all over the country as some store owners saw a chance to capitalize on people’s fears.

Luckily 9/11 was a one-day affair, no follow-up attacks occurred, and the price gouging didn’t spread beyond gasoline.

If we had endured another day or two of massive attacks, would it have spread to food or other consumer goods?

If there had been a sudden run on banks, would the ATMs have been shut off?

Imagine The Aftermath Of A Real Catastrophe…

Imagine a man whose family lives paycheck to paycheck finds himself standing in line at the local grocery.

He’s got a single ten-dollar bill in hand while watching the food disappear from the shelves and prices rise before his very eyes.

He has maybe two days of food in the house and has to do something.

So he throws the ten dollars on the counter, overfills up his cart with whatever he can find, and runs from the store.

A chain reaction starts, and mass looting begins, followed by men carrying the only currency still honored, firearms.

The store empties within hours and will not be restocked. Because what store owner wouldn’t board up the windows after his inventory is looted?

Couldn’t happen, you say?

Just look at the looting that occurred after the Rodney King trial in Los Angeles, during the power outage that swept the Northeast a few years ago, or that occurred during Hurricane Katrina.

Civility Vanishes Along With Power, Water, And Food

For a brief time, it must have felt to those in New Orleans that they had seceded from the Union.

Words on paper (even disaster response plans) cannot feed the masses, illuminate the dark, or purify water.

The City Officials of New Orleans learned the real value of their emergency plan was less than the paper it was printed on.

Relying on a faceless Federal Government headquartered a thousand miles away to swoop in and save us in times of disaster is a fool’s strategy.

Even the most stable, civilized nation on earth is only three days from anarchy at any given moment.

Our constitution, our laws, and our public institutions are the framework that binds this nation together.

However, when the power goes off, the water is polluted, and food becomes scarce; we are divided, and divided; we fall.

More Technology = More Vulnerable

We rely heavily on computers, electricity, petroleum, and vehicles for all aspects of our daily lives. And when those technologies fail or are unavailable, our system breaks down.

Nowadays, in this country, we expect others to pick up the pieces for us when disaster strikes.

It’s not that we’re lazy. It’s just the way we’ve been conditioned to have the expectation “Big Brother will rescue us.”

For most of us, disasters and our survival are in the hands of others: the City, the State, the National Guard, FEMA, the utility companies, etc.

What Our Ancestors Did

When our ancestors moved west to tame a new frontier, they took no government promises.

But they did take horses, covered wagons, casks of water and food, rifles and ammunition for hunting and protection, axes for chopping wood, etc.

They provided for themselves and their communities, come hell or high water.

We must recover some of that pioneer spirit.

The desire to accept responsibility for ourselves and others rather than expecting someone else to toe the line.

During times of crisis, the human condition can lead to behaviors as destructive as any terrorist’s bomb. We laugh when Homeland Security gives us tips such as keeping jugs of water on hand or fresh batteries in our flashlights, but when disaster strikes, it is no laughing matter.

The unprepared citizen will find himself in that grocery store line, amongst the looters, risking his life for scraps to keep his family alive.

We will have more power outages, earthquakes, tornados and hurricanes, and terrorist attacks.

Now is the time to prepare, plan, and ensure our family’s survival, and yes, maybe those extra jars of peanut butter would be a good place to start.

Best Prepper Food For Stockpiling

After some quiet reflection, you, like many of your fellow citizens, have decided that maintaining a healthy food stockpile is not crazy paranoia and is in your family’s best interest.

Good for you!

• Which preppers foods?
• What other kinds of supplies?
• Just how big do you want your stockpile to be?

If you are relatively new to prepping for survival, you may be excited by this new endeavor we call food stockpiling.

But after the initial excitement is over, do you really want to invest in prepper food that requires constant attention?

One that takes constant food rotation and occupies half your basement?

Difficult Prepper Food Decisions

How long do you want your prepper food stockpile to last?

A week? A month? Three months? Six months? How about a year?

Sure, a year’s supply of stockpiled food may be overkill for most survival situations short of an apocalyptic event (i.e., TEOTWAWKI). However, maybe that’s what helps you sleep better at night.

Knowing you have a year’s worth of prepper food on the premises, what’s that investment worth to you?

One can’t underestimate the value of a good night’s sleep.

What’s truly sad is the average U.S. family doesn’t even have at least one week of food in their homes.

This is just the nature of living in 21st Century America, where the grocery store has replaced the basement pantry and the underground root cellar.

Most natural disasters will not require survival stockpiling food beyond a few weeks or a month on the outside.

If you are talking political upheaval, revolution, or some other Third World intrusion into our ordered American lifestyles, you may want to stockpile food for up to six months.

By that time, society should be regaining some semblance of order. However, if you think society will collapse into anarchy, you may want to stockpile for a year or longer.

One thing to remember is that continuous anarchy is an unnatural vacuum. Human politics abhors a vacuum.

Somebody or some group will fill the void. Perhaps it won’t be as altruistic as our current politicians (if you can imagine that). Still, humans are pack animals and will band together.

Society, in one form or another, will return. This means if you have a massive stockpile of prepper food, these “friendly” folks may relieve you of it.

But let’s assume you decide on stockpiling food in the mid-range of options. A six-month supply of prepper food on hand at any given time for your family.

• So what prepper food should you stockpile?
• What prepper foods are stable in storage?
• What are human nutritional requirements?

Freeze-Dried Prepper Food

For the serious prepper who wants a significant food stockpile (one that will last for a couple of decades with very little hassle), you should purchase freeze-dried, prepackaged meals from a reputable emergency food supplier.

These emergency meals are designed to meet your family’s basic nutritional needs.

The best thing about this option is how fast and simple it is. Just figure out the amount you need, order it online, find a good place to store it in your home, and sleep better at night.

You can order a year’s worth today or buy a smaller amount over time; it’s up to you.

The Bottom Line: Freeze-dried prepackaged survival food kits are the easiest, fastest, and foolproof way to build your food stockpile.

Or, for those who prefer MRE meals, you could go that route as well. Not my first choice but to each their own.

Or you could invest in an at-home freeze dryer…

DIY Prepper Food

The human body needs fuel. Otherwise known as calories, namely: fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

In the long run, the body also needs certain vitamins and minerals to function properly.

Your prepper food stockpile will meet some of the vitamin and mineral requirements, but adding a couple of large bottles of a good daily multivitamin is a good insurance policy against scurvy and other vitamin deficiencies.

Your real concern is choosing storage-stable prepper foods that are dense in calories: fat, protein, and carbs.

Storing rice and dried beans are great sources of carbs and protein and, in their nearly zero moisture condition, can last almost indefinitely if stored in a dry location.

Foods spoil in the presence of bacteria, fungi, and mold, all of which require water.

Many prepper foods are naturally preserved not by chemical preservatives but by their packaged moisture levels.

Remember that microorganisms cannot grow without water. Stored in a dry container inside mylar bags, dried beans, and rice will last for decades.

Furthermore, they are easy to prepare.

Boil them in water until soft, and add a little salt or other dry seasonings. They even taste pretty good, especially when hungry.

Another great source of fat, protein, and carbs is peanut butter.

Stored in sealed jars, peanut butter has very low moisture and very high oil and fat content, which prevents spoilage.

It is also very calorie-dense.

You should learn how to make hardtack, which is a simple survival cracker that can last decades.

What about dried or smoked meats for protein?

Jerky, beef, chicken, or turkey will last a very long time.

Again due to good food packaging, low moisture, and high salt content. However, jerky is not high in calories or fat and is very expensive unless you make your own.

My personal favorite super survival food to make is pemmican.

It’s dried meat mixed with tallow. If packaged properly, it can last several decades.

Here’s our step-by-step “How To Make Pemmican” guide. Or check out the below video for a quick overview:

This brings us to a whole other topic: prepper food preservation.

There are several good methods for preserving meats and fish: drying, smoking, and salt-curing; however, we’ll save those topics for another day.

How about canned fruits?

Modern cans do have a plastic coating inside, but the high acidity of many fruits can still cause the cans to corrode from the inside over time.

I’ve seen this phenomenon with applesauce.

The fruits can still be eaten in a real emergency but may taste metallic or rusty. However, if you are starving, you won’t even notice.

Just be aware – the grocery store prepper pantry method is not easy or simple. It takes a lot of time, energy, and dedication to do it right. 

So what about other prepper supplies?

Food won’t be my only concern if I’m preparing and stockpiling food for my family.

Here are some others: aspirin, prepper antibiotics, bandages, prescription drugs, OTC cold/flu medicines, survival knives, tools, matches, and ammo, to name a few.

Some of these may already be included in your emergency survival kits – also a good idea.

Rules For Stockpiling

We don’t talk about our stockpiles with anyone.

If you choose to ignore this simple rule and share your stockpile with others outside your family, well, it’s great that you’re doing the good Christian thing.

However, realize you are sacrificing your family’s security when you do. Be prepared to lose it all if things go bad.

If your heart tells you that helping others is just as important as helping your loved ones, then follow your heart, let your love light shine but prepare to accept the consequences.

Prepper Food Action Plan

Step 1 – Decide how many months of prepper food you want in the case of an emergency.

This is a personal choice, and I cannot make this decision for you. However, if you’re a regular reader of this site, you know I believe our modern society is a fragile proposition at best.

I’m not sure in which form the ultimate catalyst will be but pick your poison: EMP (natural or coordinated), global financial meltdown, droughts, government tyranny, you name it…

The bottom line is there are many possible disaster events, and if you add up the odds of one of them occurring in your lifetime, you become very motivated to prepare ASAP.

Step 2 – Figure out how many calories your family needs daily to survive.

This one is relatively straightforward with the right tools – which we’re giving away for free – see below.

Step 3 – Purchase the right amount of prepper food from a reputable dealer.

I recommend buying from Valley Food Storage.

Their prices are the best when factoring everything in, such as shipping, quality sealing/containers, and ingredients.

Plus, their products are tasty (my Valley Food Storage review post), and the food bucket containers are of high quality and easily stackable (making storage much easier and less intrusive).

Here’s Valley Food Storage’s comparison chart for your review, which proves it’s the best in quality, price, and shelf life.

In the video below, I prepare a few of Valley Food Storage’s freeze-dried meals for my family:

If you’d like to try Valley Food Storage’s freeze-dried food yourself, click here to get a FREE 3-pack of their survival food when you cover the S&H.

This 3-pack is worth $60.00, so getting it for only less than 8 bucks shipping is a steal of a deal.

Supplies are limited, so make sure to claim your FREE 3-pack of survival food right away (+S&H). 

Honestly, prepper food may end up being the best investment you’ll ever make for your family.

Even doubling the stock market value can’t protect you from starvation if society collapses and grocery stores go empty overnight.

Prepper food stockpiles and survival gear are the only things that can protect from that level of crisis.

OR AN ALTERNATIVE – purchase your own freeze dryer!

Step 4 – Store this food in a cool, dry location, secure location, and don’t tell anyone!

That’s it…4 easy steps that you can complete today.

Prepper Food May Be THE Best Investment You’ll Ever Make

I think stockpiling prepper food is THE BEST investment you can make. Why? Because the alternative (a.k.a. the downside) is too scary.

Unlike your typical dollar investment (where the worst-case downside is losing all your money), the downside we are talking about regarding a stockpiling food investment is your family starving.

But Jack, what if my food stockpile investment never pays off? Great, life continues as normal…enjoy!

But I ask you, what if stockpiling food does pay off?

Thank goodness you took action today.

Don’t wait; start right now because survival has no do-overs. You get to live on what you’ve stockpiled when all the grocery store food is gone.

Prepare, Adapt and Overcome,

“Just In Case” Jack

P.s. Are you ready for the tough times ahead?

Find out now by taking my short Readiness Score Quiz - it’s absolutely free. Once complete, you’ll know exactly where you stand on the “fragile” vs.” resilient” spectrum.

So click here to start the Quiz….And don’t worry; the questions are so easy a 3rd grader could answer them. Click on the image to begin the Quiz and find out once and for all if you're part of “The Fragile Masses” or “The Resilient Few.”

Photo Credits Top / Barn / Tracks / MRE / Grocery

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